Four nuns and their driver were killed when a lorry smashed head-on into their 4×4.
The crash happened as the missionaries were being driven to catch a flight.
The victims have been named as Sisters Lilian Kapongo, Nerina De Simone, Damaris Matheka, and Stellamaris Muthini.
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Their driver, Boniphace Msonola, also died.
A fifth nun, Sister Paulina Mipata, survived but remains in critical condition in hospital.
The collision took place in Bukumbi, near the Mwanza Gulf of Lake Victoria, Tanzania on Monday (15 Sept) evening, as reported by Need To Know.
The missionaries had been in Kahama on Saturday (13 Sept) to attend the perpetual vows ceremony of three fellow sisters.
Sister Monica Muccio of the congregation told Italian media: “The details are vague, but it seems a lorry entered the lane in which the sisters were travelling in their jeep.”
However, Tanzanian police say it was actually Msonola, 53, who veered into the adjacent lane, causing the collision.
Commander Mutafungwa said: “Four people died at the scene, while the Toyota Land Cruiser driver died at Bukumbi Hospital while receiving treatment.
“The cause of the accident was overspeeding by the smaller vehicle, which attempted to overtake another car without caution and ended up colliding head-on with the oncoming lorry.”
Kapongo, 55, originally from Tanzania but living in Italy, was Superior General of the congregation.
De Simone, 60, from Italy, was Councillor and General Secretary.
Matheka, 51, from Kenya, was Councillor of the East Africa Province and headmistress of a girls’ secondary school.
Muthini, 48, was also from Kenya.
The condition of 20-year-old Mipata, a student supervisor at Matheka’s school, is described as critical.
The 61-year-old lorry driver reportedly escaped uninjured.
Muccio remembered De Simone as “a cheerful, sunny person with a great sense of humour. She could play the guitar and sang beautifully”.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “The Embassy is in contact with the nuns’ religious order and local authorities to handle the necessary formalities.”
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